Situated in Bellingham, WA, Springhill Suites by Marriott opened in the fall of 2013. This stylish new hotel was built by the 360� Hotel Group, a leading hospitality company headquartered in northern Seattle, Washington.� The hotel was designed to offer a seamless blend of style and function both inside and out, including the innovative design of the front entrance structure.

The first impression of any building is the entry. Defining the main entrance of the Springhill Suites is a spectacular exposed steel and standing seam canopy. The structural steel members of the arched canopy are covered with the LEXAPANEL� 20mm 5-wall X-structure polycarbonate standing seam system. Bronze colored LEXAN� multiwall polycarbonate sheets were used to filter the glare of the sun and provide maximum shading over the southern exposed front entrance.

LEXAPANEL� was chosen for this project because the glazing system required minimal fastening to the steel frame. The LEXAPANEL� connection system incorporates a batten connector with an aluminum clip that was screwed directly into the structural frame eliminating the need to add extra supports. It was also important to the architect that the battens line up with the sprinkler system and the exposed structural steelwork. The flexibility of the LEXAPANEL� system made this visual aesthetic possible with custom sheet sizes.

“A key design challenge with the glazing of this canopy was wind uplift and snow load. The hotel’s location lies within a 95mph 3-second gust wind zone, the wind exposure is a category ‘C’, and the snow load for a structural roof in Bellingham is 25 lbs/sqft,” said Brad Anderson, Territory Manager with CrystaLite Inc., Everett, WA.� “The LEXAPANEL� system offers great performance with capabilities to withstand these extreme wind and higher snow loading pressures.”

CrystaLite Inc. is a manufacturer of high quality roof glazing, sunrooms, and railing systems. Partnering on this project, CrystaLite supplied the LEXAPANEL� standing seam system provided by AmeriLux International to Emerald Glass. Emerald Glass is the full-service commercial glazing company located in Burlington, WA, who installed the system. This was Emerald’s first experience installing the standing seam product. �Emerald was impressed by the smooth installation; the snap-on connection system greatly reduced their installation time and labor costs.

The LEXAPANEL� polycarbonate standing seam system promises to change the way translucent roofing is designed and installed. This versatile standing seam system is ideal for skylights, canopies, barrel vaults, and covered walkways. �To learn more, please call AmeriLux at 888.602.4441.